Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1887-04-02
THE SENATOR'S IN CUBA.
HOW THEY WERE RECEIVED BY
THE CAPTAIN GENERAL.
Strange Sights and Tropical Scenes-The
Way to Get to Cuba-Entering the
HarbOr-SenatOr Palmer and the Royal
Baby-A ReceDtfon I'm Cuba


Way to Get to Cuba-Entering tn
HarbOr-SenatOr Palmer and the ROya
Baby-A Reception in Cuba.
Especial Correspondence
HAVANA, Cuba, March 81.
Six hours ride from Kew West lies a coun
try almost as dillrrci,t from the United States
as old Egypt Cuban scenes and Cuban arch
ltecture remind one somewhat of the scenes
of the Nile, and the sky and the trees, the
houses and the people are those of a different
world than the American. Above and below
us there is a blaze of bright colors, and the
palm trees and the banana harmonic with
tropical sun ana the low blue sky. 1t is per-
petual summer here, and Cuba is said to be
the garden of the world. We are delighted
with the city Of Havana, with its many one
and two story buildings painted in all the
colors of the rainbow, and we have fallen in
love with the narrow streets into which the
stores of the merchants open like the booths
of a business street at Alexandria, or, as
traveller tells me, like the shops Of Canton.
China. s*a
Cuba has come much closer to us within the
last few years. The long sea voyage from
New York to Havana has given place to the
fast mail route along the Atlantic coast and
the sea ride of day and night from Florida
1t is by this route that the senatorial party
has come, and it is the easiest Of jumps into
foreign world. The railroad is as smooth as
any in the United States the steamers of
the Plant line are fitted out like yachts as to
comforts, and they make as fast time COM
psratively as does the railroad. We were
under the charge of Mr.. A. J. Galloway, the
travelling agent of the road, upon the Atlantic
Coast line, and the senators found him as
good as professional courier At Jackson
vile, Mr.. Fuste a bright eyed, black mus
tached young Cuban, who is in the employ of
the Plant steamship line joined the party as
its interpreter for Cuba, and thus we started
Tor Havana with every preparation made AT
Key West, which we reached in the evening the
bearded members Of the party had chance
for a shave We found the BARRIERS all
Cuban, and the one who shaved Senator
Palmer, upon his trying to talk to him, said:
Me no talk Inglese; ME talk SPANISH" Ny
barber pulled a cigarette while he shaved me-
and he fiourished a long little finger nail in !
front Of my eyes in such a way that it came
between me and the light, looking like an /
opalescent window. Mr. Fuste says that
there are majority of Cubans on the island |
of Key West, and that of the $4,000, at which
he estimates the population, 1900 are from
Cuba. The Key West cigars are made by !
them -
We woke in sight of Havana and the sun
rose before our eyes as the MaScotte entered /
the harbor. All were on deck as we steamed
by Moro Castle, the great fort which with
hoary battlements frowns upon the ships as
they enter between it and the city, and
steam launch sent out in honor of "Vice Presi-
dent Sherman and distinguished senator's of
the United States" as the Spanish papers re-
ported it, took us off to the city. We found in
the boat Gen. Brice, one of the congressman
elect from New York, and Mr.. Allen Thorn
like Rice, the editor of The North American
iteview, and these gentlemen became a
part Of our party which, upon counting,
iow numbers eighteen. We were landed
court where low, red tiled, square built
Cuban buildings surrounded us, and where
lt one end shoemaker was working at his
trade in the open air. Dirty children, coffee
'olored and black, half naked, sprawled here ;
and there, and re-echoed the sentiments of
ne of the ladies when said: "This reminds I
me of the scenes along the Chiaja at Naples"
And, indeed, one is reminded of Italy here at
very step. The climate is much the same as .
hat OF Naples, the habits of the people are of {
he same open air order, and the streets are C
'edOlent with smells which cannot be surpassed b
by those of that most beautiful and dirtiest of a
he cities of Italy.
We rode in Victorias through narrow q
treets to the Pistage hotel, and ate, after the I
'ustom of the country, our first breakfast of v
oranges, coffee and rolls in the little room a
which serves as barroom and coffee room in s
he Cuban hotels There are no Hoffman a
ouse bars in Cuba, and the gilded mirrors, Il
he statuary and the grand paintings of the o
MODERN American saloon are not to be found y
ere. The coffee rooms, where most drinks q
re taken, are Of the same style as the French A
afe, and the customer generally sits down il
nd drinks at his leisure. W